Spirit Riders, Episode 10: Scream!
by chibiwriter
Summary: Jay's the strongest fighter, the invulnerable one, right? Right?
1. Control, Trev, CONTROL!

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

"What the – shit!"

David Bradley and Trevor Watanabe both let out yelps, followed by groans, as Trev landed on the other boy. They lay still for a moment – Trev lying on David's back – before the blond stirred, beginning to push up. "Get off Trev. You're heavy."

With another groan, Trev managed to push himself up and off, flopping to the side with his arms flung out. "Gah."

On his other side, James Clarke laughed, snapped out of his meditative state by the yells and thumping. "Well, that didn't exactly go to plan."

Trev scowled. "Shut up Jay."

The 'plan' had been for Trev to Relocate out of the command base to the park, pluck a flower for evidence, return back to the base and give the flower to Dayton – though Jay, Ris and Eva had demanded he give it to Jeanie, much to Dayton and David's amusement and his embarrassment.

"Funny," Marissa Brooks commented with a grin, "I didn't realise David had turned into the park."

"Shut up Ris."

Eva Stevens got up, strolled over to the two boys. "You okay?" She asked.

"Give him a kiss," Jeanie Bradley said with a wide, wide grin. "Make it all better."

"Okay."

Even as David coloured and Jeanie laughed, Eva leant down – and placed a soft kiss on Trev's brow. "Better?"

"Oh." He blinked up at her. "Um…I guess."

"Or," now Eva's smile was sly and her eyes slid over to a slightly stunned looking Jeanie, "would you prefer a kiss from –"

"Okay!" Trev sat up so fast, the top of his head would have hit Eva's chin if the brunette hadn't pulled away in the nick of time. "I think I'm ready to go again, Dayton."

The others laughed – even Jeanie – at Trev's sudden recovery. Dayton, their millenia old mentor, had to smile at Trev's slowly pinking cheeks. "If you wish so Trevor."

"Yeah," he got to his feet, dusted himself off. "I 'wish so'."

"Hey," Jay stretched out his legs, leant back on his hands. "Do me and David had to get back to meditating? 'Cause I don't know about him but my butt went numb about five minutes ago."

"If you were really meditating, you wouldn't have felt your butt go numb."

"Shut up Jeanie."

"I'm afraid she is right, James. And the best way to find your Spirit power is meditation."

Jay scowled, glanced over at David as he sat up, one arm looped over his raised knees. "Jeanie and Ris didn't need to meditate so hard to find their power."

"Every power has a trigger. They simply found theirs."

David raised a brow. "Trigger?"

"Knowledge through want. Resurrection through love. Metaphase through strength of will. Relocation through strength of will." Dayton spoke as if reciting. "The triggers of your power."

"Metaphase and Relocation have the same trigger," Trev commented.

"Some of the powers do," Dayton replied. "'Tis your strength of will that triggers your power. When Eva wants to know something, her power is triggered. Marissa heals and resurrects through love. You have a well of love," he added to her. "'Tis, I think, part of the reason the Phoenix chose you. Jeanie, you willed badly to be released from your prison, and thus your power was triggered. Trevor, you willed for the power that would bring you to the Zords and so it was triggered."

"What about us?" Jay asked.

Dayton looked at him. "You must find your triggers for yourself."

"No shortcuts," Trev taunted and earned glares from both David and Jay.

"Get back to practicing, _Centaur_," David shot back. "And _this_ time, _don't_ Relocate on me."

There was a taut silence. Then Jay snorted and the girls burst into fits of giggles. "That," Jay managed between bouts of laughter. "Is just so, so, so wrong!"

David coloured – could feel himself colouring some more because it was just so damn embarrassing. "It wouldn't be if you guys didn't have dirty minds."

"David, David, David," smirking, Jeanie strolled over, drilled a finger into the centre of his forehead. "We're teenagers. That's pretty mush synonymous with dirty minded."

"For guys maybe." Trev was frowning, arms crossed over his chest. "But not for girls."

"Yeah," Ris said. "No one could accuse you of being dirty minded."

Trev blinked, then scowled as the insult hit. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Eva and Jeanie said at the same time.

Ris looked at them. "What?"

Jeanie rolled her eyes. "You just called us guys."

"Really?"

Eva nodded. "Yes."

"Rangers." Dayton had to bite back a laugh at their expressions, had to actually work to keep a calm, kind look on his face. "Please. Focus. There is much to go before you have full control of your skills, Trevor. In the meantime, you must practice."

Trev sighed, slapped his hands together as if brushing dust off them. "All right then. Back to work it is."

* * *

Dinner time always meant one-on-two time for Jay and his parents. His mum, Jasmine, was always home first. As soon as she was home, the law professor disappeared, left at the door. She might still be dressed in the prim suit, but the jacket was gone, the long sleeves rolled up and the leather shoes exchanged for comfortable flip flops. Her hair was down but pulled away so it was a long spill of black down her back. She was his dad's opposite in every other way and that suited them.

Shane Clarke was Maori and very obviously so with his build, his dark complexion, his square face. He was built along the lines of a linebacker or a prop in rugby; broad shoulders, strong chest, muscled arms and legs. His jaw was strong, stubborn his wife liked to say. He had hair dark as midnight, cut closer to his head than it'd been when he'd been a ranger. His eyes were dark, bittersweet chocolate, and his smile wide and disarming.

Describing Shane was like describing his son. Jay was the exact version of his dad at seventeen. He knew because he'd seen the photos. Heck, he even styled his hair the same way his dad had back then; short and spiked away from his face. Not because he wanted to look like his dad but because it was cool and made him look good. Not his fault he and his dad had similar tastes.

Sometimes, his mum despaired of them, wondering, out loud, how she could have gotten saddled with two muscle bound hulking jocks. But that was only when they'd done something incredibly stupid – like the time they'd managed to take out the window to her study with a badly aimed baseball bat. Yes, the bat. Not one of their finer moments and, man, had she made them suffer for that.

But you couldn't tell it now, not the way she was laughing, one slim hand holding her half filled wine glass as she listened to Shane relate a story from one of his ninja classes. Apparently, one of his experienced air students had managed to get himself stuck in a tree.

"How long did it take?" Jasmine asked, mouth still curled in a little smile.

"Three hours," Jay replied for Shane, laughter in his voice as he remembered the scene. "Thomas was panicking like crazy, shrieking and crying like a gi – baby." He amended quickly and got a quick wink from his dad. "When we got him down, we found out he's afraid of heights. That's why he freaked so bad."

Shane's laugh was low and rollicking and seemed to tickle Jasmine even more. "I've never heard of it; an air ninja scared of heights. But I've got him on some extra time with me, trying to get over that. I just can't believe he didn't say anything." Shane shook his head and took a sip of his wine.

"It makes you think, though," Jasmine said, "of the lengths people'll go through, just to prove to themselves they _aren't_ scared."

Shane cocked his head, wine glass still half lowered. "No," he said at length. "Not really."

Both he and Jay laughed when Jasmine glared, Shane jumping a little when Jasmine's foot connected with his shin. He put down his wine glass, took his wife's hand and rubbed his thumb over knuckles covered by skin so soft, he still marvelled at it. "Okay, yes, it's an interesting prospect, maybe, but you know me. That type of stuff isn't my forte."

"Oh, you said forte." Jasmine's smile was wide but not mocking. "I must be rubbing off on you."

"That's not the –"

"Dad," Jay cut in hurriedly, just to remind them he was there. Sometimes, they got carried away. And most times, they did it just to freak him out.

Obviously, this was one of those freak-Jay-out-times because neither of them started and Shane chuckled as he put Jasmine's hand back on the table. "You're far too easy," Shane informed his son, picking up his fork and knife.

"Careful dad," Jay warned, "I could take that the wrong way."

"But you won't, will you?"

"No," Jay said hastily at the look in his mum's eyes. The one that promised grounding and enough chores to make him beg for forgiveness if he didn't agree with her.

Shane chuckled away, neatly cutting his meatloaf. "Anything interesting happen in training today?" He asked.

Jay grinned at the memory and spent the rest of the meal regaling his parents with Trev's escapade during training. "Man," Shane was still shaking his head, sides still hurting from laughter, as they cleared the table. "That is beyond what we did during training – and we thought some of the mistakes we'd made were pretty major."

"Yes, well, you didn't have the power the kids have now," Jasmine replied, loading the dishwasher. Jay was scraping the remains on the plates into the bin. "You had your ninja powers, yes, and combined with the ranger power, I'm sure it was a great combination. But the kids have that and these – Life Spirits, is it, Jay?" At Jay's nod, she continued, "as an extra punch. Of course their training will be above what you did."

"In other words," Jay said a grin that reminded Shane of the one Tori said he'd sometimes used before going to battle, "we could take you and win."

Shane, as expected, rose to the challenge. "Please," he sneered and used the end of the cloth he'd been using to wipe the table to flick his son's butt. "We're seasoned ninjas. You're nothing but green."

"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, I'm black."

"Yeah, and that's another thing I don't get. How did _David_ end up red? Both Tori and Blake are blue."

Jasmine raised a brow. "What does it matter what colour Jay is? He's still a ranger and doing us proud." She reached out, gave Jay's shoulder a squeeze as she passed him on her way to the fridge.

"Yeah, but red's the leader. You know, the one everyone listens to, the one who decides what to do."

Jay snorted. "Hey, I've got no interest in deciding what to do next. Too much stress, thank you very much. Being listened to, yeah, but everyone listens to me, so it makes no difference." He grinned, quick and easy, and turned the water off.

"Yeah but –"

"Shane, Jay is a ranger. He has no interest in being leader. He's happy as he is. Be quiet." Jasmine's voice was pleasant, dangerously so and after living with her for more than twenty years now, Shane knew it was best to do as she said. So he shut up.

"Hey," Jay said, spotting the box in his mum's hands. "Is that dessert? Did you pick up dessert?"

Jasmine smiled, lifted the box slightly higher. "I was in the mood for chocolate. Chocolate mud cake to be more specific."

"Yes!" Jay practically danced before bopping over to the cupboard to get out dishes. Shane grabbed three forks from the drawer and three glasses as well, for the milk that just went with chocolate.

"I want –" Jay broke off as a weird tune filled the air.

Shane and Jasmine turned to look at him as he put the plates on the counter, lifted his wrist to his mouth. He pressed on the silver and black lined bracelet he always wore nowadays and spoke into it. "Yeah Dayton?"

"There is a monster at the place where sea meets this city."

That took a moment for Jay to figure out. "You mean the docks?"

"Yes, I believe that is what Eva called them."

"Oh yeah, the others?"

"David and Eva are on their way. Trevor is attempting to get away from dinner without being too conspicuous. And Jeanie and Marissa are already there."

"On my way." Even as he spoke, Jay was unlatching the window behind the sink, pushing it wide enough so he could climb through.

"Jay." At his mum's dry voice, he turned, only just remembering his parents were in the room as well. "We have doors for a reason."

Jay's smile was rueful and begged for sympathy and looked exactly like his dad's when he'd done something wrong. "Sorry mum, but this is closer, you know. I swear, one and only time. Don't let dad hog all the cake!" With that, he was gone, diving through the window.

Shane crossed the room, closed the window. "I'm not as greedy as him."

Jasmine had to roll her eyes at that, her husband knowing exactly what to say to ease her worry. "Oh, you're both the same. You're having one slice – one," she repeated and held up a finger to emphasize, "only."

"Aw." But even as he did his version of a pout, Shane was moving across the room, taking the box from her and setting it on the counter. "Bet I can make you give me more."

Jasmine rolled her eyes but twined her arms around his neck. "Prove it."

* * *

_A/N: As promised, the next installment of "my" (ahem) series. Not sure if I should really call it that considering I don't even know if anyone's reading this anymore....especially since I take FOREVER between updates. Which I am so sorry for, by the way. But yeah, erm, even anoyone's still following this, thanks for reading. And enjoy!_


	2. Their ears!

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

"Jay! Jay, here!"

Nearing the docks, Jay looked up, spotted Ris waving at him from the roof of a nearby warehouse. "What're you doing up there?"

"Watching. Get up here."

Jay studied the building, cocked his head. Then he leapt up, and, with a grunt, began climbing up the side of the building. Trev was waiting at the edge to give him a hand up. "What took you so long?" Jeanie asked with an arched brow.

"Dinner." Jay let out a long breath, bit back a burp. "Man, it so does not pay to run straight after a meal. My belly aches."

"If you want to vomit," David said in a dark voice, "do it away from me."

"Yeah, yeah," rolling his eyes, Jay sauntered over to the edge, where Eva, Trev and Ris stood. "Why're we up here, _watching_ the monster instead of doing what we usually do, which'd be kick its ass back to wherever Pleance dug it from?"

"Because…" Eva glanced down. "It's not doing anything."

Jay blinked. "Really?" He looked down, and sure enough, there was the monster just…standing there. It swayed from side to side but other than that, did nothing. "Huh." He frowned. "Think it's drunk?"

"Very placid drunk," Trev commented, arching his own brow.

"Maybe it's just stupid," Jeanie suggested instead, shoving her hair back. She peered down at the still swaying monster.

Ris laughed. That turned out to be a mistake.

With the unerring certainty of a missile seeking its target, the monster turned its head, looked right up at them. "Uh-oh," Jay muttered. "I sense trouble."

"_Move!_"

At David's yell, they jumped, all in separate directions. But the expected blast didn't come. The rangers landed – Ris, Trev and David on different roof tops – and all of them stared down at the monster. "Okay," Jeanie finally said. "That was…unexpected."

"It's like it's waiting for something," Trev called out.

"No," David realised, "it's building up its attack. Rangers, morph!"

Without waiting for the others to confirm their readiness, he jumped off the roof. "Dragon Rider, Ranger Form!"

The others followed his example, morphing as they went down.

"Minotaur Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Phoenix Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Griffin Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Unicorn Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Centaur Rider, Ranger Form!"

They somehow managed to land properly, in a ragged circle surrounding the monster. Still, it did nothing though it had stopped swaying, but the rangers weren't taking any chance. They took their ready stances, and waited, Jay nearly bouncing on his heels. "Come on, come on…"

"It's not _doing_ anything," Ris sounded irritated. "And I'm getting really antsy about it."

David shifted. Though he didn't want to admit it, the monster's stillness was getting to him. However, even though he was tempted, he didn't give the order to attack. The number one rule of ninjas had been ingrained into him from his birth; do not, ever, start a fight and only attack if someone else has started one. And still the monster did not move, didn't even show that it had noticed them surrounding it. Just _what_ was Pleance planning with this one?

Frissons appeared without warning, simply surrounding the rangers where they'd been alone before. Jay ducked a Frisson's strike, twisting his torso to avoid its deadly claws. Another Frisson attacked him directly afterwards, forcing him to overbalance. One hand fell back, stopping his fall, the other turning to join it. He pushed himself into back somersaults, avoiding numerous other Frissons attacks as he did. He landed a few feet away, took his ready stance again. "Come on then," he growled. "Let's finish this. There's a mud cake with my name on it."

"How do you know your dad hasn't already finished it?" Jeanie asked as she sailed overhead, landing feet first on a Frisson's head.

"I told him not to. Mum'll keep him in check." With way too much satisfaction, Jay finished off one Frisson, pivoted to smash his fist into another's face.

Eva blocked a Frisson's kick, skidded a bit from the force of it, but kicked out as well, catching the monster on its arm. The arm snapped back, Eva charged forward, slamming her fist into its belly. As it doubled up, Eva followed the punch with an elbow to the small of its back, forcing it to collapse. She stomped on its head, swivelled and barely managed to avoid another's incoming claws.

Ris blocked a Frisson's punches, then had to bend back at the waist when another aimed a kick to her head. She managed to straighten in time to block another kick with her forearms, catching the Frisson's foot and pushing up. The Frisson spun in the air, landed on its back. Ris jumped on its head, exploding it, before jumping away from yet another's oncoming attack.

Trev was on the ground, with help from a Frisson. He blocked attacks with his arms and legs, but was still unable to get up. "Damn…it…you…shit…asses…let…me…up!"

He let out a sharp gasp when the Frissons suddenly disappeared in a shower of colourful shards. Jeanie stood above him, her slings in her hands. She shifted them to one hand, held out the free one to him. "You asked to be let up?"

He grinned, through she couldn't see it beneath their visors, and grabbed her outstretched hand, letting her pull him to his feet. "Thanks."

"Never a problem," she said warmly.

"Nice moment guys," David panted, fighting three Frissons at once and trying to avoid attacks from dozens others, "can you have it some _other_ time?"

Jeanie rolled her eyes, pulling back. "Jeez. How rude." But she swung her slings, fast and furious, until pink balls began to grow where the rubber cradles would normally be. She launched them, the hot pink lasers hitting into two Frissons, going right through them to hit a further four before dying out. "No match."

"Hey," Ris suddenly said, appearing beside Trev. "What's the monster doing while we fight these dudes?"

David glanced over, paused, and was pulled back by Jay when a Frisson took advantage of his distraction to attack. David kicked it in retaliation. "Thanks Jay. Sorry, was surprised."

"By what?" Eva asked, kneeing a monster in the jaw.

"The monster. It's _still_ not doing anything."

"Well, there're too many Frissons for us to outright attack it," Trev pointed out, ducking beneath a Frisson's fist, allowing Jeanie to catch its wrist and reel it in. It met sharply with his fist.

They'd formed a tight circle, with their backs to each other, facing the Frissons. "Damnit, damnit, damnit," David muttered. "This is not good."

"You think?" Jay retorted.

"Why the hell are there so many Frissons?" Trev demanded. "Pleance's never done anything like this before."

"Obviously," Ris said. "He's trying something new."

"I hate it," Eva said through gritted teeth, "when he tries something new."

"Let's end this," Jay said, sounding dangerous and slightly on the edge.

"So hear you," Jeanie said, already spinning her slings. "David."

"Aim for the head," he replied, and charged.

The others followed suit, Jeanie letting her lasers loose with deadly accuracy. The monster didn't move – it didn't have to. Frissons jumped in the way, exploding as soon as the lasers touched them. It wasn't much but it was enough. The monster still stood.

"Damnit!"

Ris twisted and turned, evading the Frissons as they went after her, punches, kicks, claws, any way they could. She blocked their attacks, jumped into the air and spun into a cock screw kick that destroyed three Frissons in one go.

Eva grabbed the arm of a Frisson digging claws into her shoulder, pulled it with a grunt over her shoulder and onto the ground. She ended it with her foot to its face, spun on the spot with her leg up, managing to catch several Frissons on the chest. Without pausing, she took another Frisson by the wrist, spun it in a circle and punched it on the jaw.

David took one out with a high backwards kick, following that up with a forward kick that caught an approaching Frisson in the belly. He grabbed another's arm, spun it around and into a few of its comrades. He grunted when one's claws glanced him, but grabbed it by the wrist, threw it over his shoulder and caught it with a kick to its cheek.

Jay had one in a headlock, and kept it in there while he used its body as a shield. He kicked out, dodged its flailing arms, and, with a heave, threw it. It crashed into its fellow Frissons, bringing them to the ground, while he jumped over the heaving pile, caught a Frisson in a karate chop to its neck.

Trev side stepped, slammed the side of his hand onto the Frisson's wrist, kicked it on the knee, and spun, elbowing another in the chest, his fist jerking up and catching it on the nose. Reaching through its shards as they fell about him, he grabbed a Frisson by is neck and introduced it to his knee.

Both of Jeanie's arms were being held on to by Frissons, disabling her use of her slings. She pulled back her lips in a snarl, and, using the Frisson's weight against them, threw them against each other. They didn't shatter but she made sure they did by grabbing their heads and smashing them against one another.

Shifting her grip on her slings, she began to swing her slings again. "Keep them clear of me!"

"No problem." Jay took a Frisson down with a football tackle. "Go for it Jeanie."

She narrowed her eyes, took a hard stance, and prepared to throw her lasers.

The blast came from seeming nowhere, shattering the Frissons and sending the rangers flying. They slammed into the tarmac, hard enough to de-morph. But it didn't end there.

Something – a sound – immediately assailed their ears. But it was unlike anything they'd ever heard. At just the right frequency, it made their eardrums burn without actually tearing them, making the rangers clamp their palms over their ears, curl into balls of pain, and grit their teeth, unable to do anything but wait it out.

On and on and on, until tears began to prick at their eyes. "Trev!" David managed to scream through the pain. "Relocate it! I don't care where the hell you send it, just Relocate it!"

"I don't think –"

"Do it!" Jay screamed. "Do IT!"

Trev managed to open his eyes, and stare at Jay. His cousin's face was scrunched in agony, teeth bared, tears slowly crawling down his cheeks. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Jay cry because of physical pain.

So Trev reached past it, past the pain, down, down, beyond his ninja powers that shimmered in him, to the power that rested beneath them. It spread through his body and it took all of his strength and concentration to shove the power to the monster, to surround the damn thing with it. His only thought was _'Away. As far away from here as possible.'_

The sound stopped but it still took the rangers time to recover. Slowly, one by one, they uncurled, sat up. "Urgh. My head."

"I feel like someone took a hammer to my skull and whaled away," Ris muttered, fingers pressed to her brow.

"Only a hammer?" Jeanie asked. "I feel like someone dropped my zord on me."

"Stop talking," was all Trev said and he'd somehow managed to move so his head rested against Jeanie's thigh. Without thinking, she moved her legs and levered him so his head was in her lap. Her fingers tangled in her hair as she smoothed his wrinkled brow.

The others would have grinned in satisfaction except that would be too much work now. "Congratulations Trev," David said weakly. "You managed to Relocate that son of a bitch without passing out."

"Yay me," Trev said in a dry voice and closed his eyes, giving up to the soothing, rhythmic motions of Jeanie's fingers against his forehead.

"How's Jay doing?" Ris asked suddenly. "He hasn't even said anything."

Eva, who'd already checked on the black ranger, shook her head. "Knocked out cold." She frowned, brushed his hair back from his face. Unconscious, she couldn't help but note he looked nothing like the smart ass she knew him to be. He looked young – too young to be fighting monsters and Frissons. She guessed they all looked like that asleep. "I don't understand. Jay's just as tough – actually, he might even be tougher than us. So why's he the only one unconscious?"

David sat closer to his cousin. "Remember when we told you about our ninja elements?" Eva nodded. "Well, Jay's an air ninja."

"Which means?"

"He's sensitive to air." Jeanie explained. "His element not only gives him the ability to manipulate air and walk on it, but he's also got super sensitive hearing."

"He's more sensitive to the vibrations that move through air," Trev piped up from Jeanie's lap. "Which makes him more sensitive to whatever the hell it was the monster was doing. Sonic attack if I'm right."

"Man," Eva stared at the too still teen. It didn't seem right, to see him so motionless. The Jay she knew was always moving, always on the go. "That _sucks_."

"I don't need to heal him," Ris said with some relief. She'd been checking Jay over while the others had been explaining. "He just konked out, that's all."

Eva didn't bother pointing out she'd already determined that. To Ris, Jay was family. Even she'd need confirmation if one of her bothers got hurt. "There's some great things about being ninja," Eva decided, "but there's some parts that make me glad I'm just me."

Jeanie shrugged philosophically. "There's a downside to everything." She looked at Trev as he began to sit up. "All good?"

He nodded even as he sagged slightly against her. "All better." But he rested his head in the crook of her shoulder.

"Man Trev," Jay spoke up, startling them all, "when're you going to make a _move_?"

"Shut up Jay," Trev snapped automatically.

David, Eva and Ris all moved to make room for Jay as he set up. "Man." He groaned, buried his head in his shoulders. "I got a headache worse than that time we broke into Uncle Dustin's liquor cupboard."

Jeanie raised her brow. "Why am I hearing about this for the first time?"

"It's nothing," David said hastily and put his hand on Jay's shoulder. "The headache'll clear up soon enough. How's the rest of you feeling?"

"Definitely not up for mud cake," Jay decided. "Maybe save it for tomorrow."

"Come on," David helped him up and some part of him became unsettled that Jay actually needed help to stand, "let's get you home and in bed."

"Why David," Jay fluttered, "sure Eva'll let you?"

Jeanie snorted while David coloured. "He's got to be all right," the pink ranger decided, "to be making cracks like that."

Jay grinned. "Pretty much, yeah." But when he straightened away from David, his head swam, his vision turned grey and he found himself stumbling. "Whoa."

This time it was both Trev and Jeanie who shored him up. "Looks like you're not fully up to speed," Trev said, shifting so Jay's arm lay more comfortably across his shoulders. "Man, Aunt Jasmine's gonna freak."

"Only if she knows."

David rolled his eyes as he took over from Jeanie. "You're the only one who still believes she doesn't know about everything we do."

"Yeah, well, you don't believe the same thing 'bout Aunt Tori."

"Point," David allowed as they began walking forwards slowly. "You guys better go on ahead," he added to the girls. "This'll probably take a while – and none of us can carry Jay and ninja streak."

"Light I ain't," Jay grinned unrepentantly. "Unlike you Eva."

"I'm going to ignore that comment," she decided. "But only because you're injured." He pressed cool fingers to his cheek. "Take care of yourself air boy."

David would have frowned – and told himself he wasn't frowning because he was jealous – except she gave him a quick grin before she turned, and with a shouted good bye to everyone, ran off with only the speed rangers could posses.

"See you," Ris said with a quick grin, then pressed kisses to all of their brows. "Be careful, 'kay?" She ninja streaked off before either David or Trev could remind her not to.

"I'd better head off too," Jeanie said. "Snuck out without telling dad. Bet he's freaking by now."

"Just a little," David said with a quick grin.

Her answering grin was just as quick, then she gave him a one armed hug. She followed it up by grabbing Jay's cheeks and planting a smacking kiss middle of his forehead. "Be careful you big oaf." Then she was off, running with the same speed as Eva.

Trev let out a disgruntled sound. Jay grinned, then laughed. "What? Jealous she kissed me and not you?"

"Shut up," was Trev's reply.

Jay's and David's laughter carried far across the water.


	3. Reminiscing rocks

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

Jay ended up spending the whole of the next day in bed. The bad thing, he thought, about being an only child was that you were the only one who your parents could focus their neuroses on. Which explained very clearly, he thought, why he'd ended up in bed.

And now he was _bored_. And if there was one thing James Declan Francis Clarke didn't do well, it was boredom.

He'd already read _all_ of his comics and his books. He'd played with his action figures for a while but that hadn't been as interesting as when he'd been eight. He'd tried watching TV for a while but there was nothing on apart from reruns on the same boring shows.

So now he was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sad thing was; it was the most interesting thing he'd done all day.

With a sigh, he rolled over, stared blankly at the shelves that dominated most of the opposite wall. On them were books, comics, action figures and albums. He'd already gone through three of the four. There was nothing left to do, he supposed, but go through the albums.

He paused, cocked his head to listen. His mum, from the distant sounds, was in the kitchen. Time enough. He dashed off his bed, randomly grabbed a couple of albums and jumped back into bed again.

With a wicked grin, he flipped them open to an indiscriminate page. It was, unsurprisingly, filled with photos of him and his cousins. Most of the albums had pictures of them. Jay cocked his head, studying the pictures. They were about twelve, he decided. They looked so freaking young. David hadn't yet grown in his feet, Trev was too skinny, he'd been too stout, Jeanie's glasses too round and Ris was still wearing braces.

He flipped through the pages. There was Ris, laughing her butt off after drenching Trev with a water balloon. The next picture was of Trev getting his revenge. Jay showing off his new skateboard. Jeanie showing off her first place prize in their eighth grade science competition. David giving Jeanie a piggy back ride. The girls climbing a tree. The boys playing football.

As he went through the pages, he found himself going through the years. Ris on her first real bike. David after his driver's test. Trev with his first laptop. Jeanie 'convincing' Trev to let her use his new laptop. Jay after wining his first skateboard competition. Them at the beach. Them at the motocross track. Them at the skate park.

So many memories, contained in so little pages. Finishing with the first album, Jay picked up the second. A quick grin lifted the corners of his lips. Ah, this one was more recent, from this year. It contained pictures of Eva.

He flipped through until he found a photo of all of them. A short chuckle escaped when he saw how they'd grouped themselves. Trev beside Jeanie. David with an oh-so-casual arm around Eva. He and Ris at the ends, he draping himself over Trev.

They all looked so different, he marvelled. Ris was grinning, wide, wide, wide. Her brown hair was wavy – inherited from her mother. But her eyes were a golden brown, from her dad. She was slim and looked delicately but she had, Jay knew from experience, a wicked right hook.

David was Eurasian and looked it. His skin was pale and smooth, his hair a blond mostly found in little kids and his eyes dark and almond shaped, much like Trev's were behind his glasses. He was only about average height, not as tall as Jay, but he was well built from years of ninja training. Eva was slightly shorter than him, and her hair was a shade lighter than Ris's, coming to about her shoulders. But it was her eyes that pulled you in. They were a sharp bright green, and tended to be unwavering when she focused her attention on you.

Jeanie's pull came from her hair. A tumble of red she got from her mum, coupled with the bright blues her dad had given her had proved to be a killer combination more than once. Her skin was redhead creamy, almost, Jay sometimes thought, to make that blue pop even more. Trev, on the other hand, had dark hair and matching eyes. His hair was cut in a way that both managed to be neat and messy. More often than not, it was messy. He was leanly built, suiting his just above average height.

The door slammed open, sudden enough to startle Jay into jerking. The album snapped closed, hit the floor with a thud as Jay turned, scowled as David and Trev trooped in. Of course it was them. Who else would enter without knocking? Even his parents knocked before they came in and the girls always knocked before opening the door. Only these two idiots hadn't figured it out.

"Hey Jay," David said, dropping his bag onto the floor. So, they'd come straight from school then.

"Here's your homework," Trev said, placing a couple of books on Jay's desk.

Jay's scowl deepened. "Did you just come over to give me my homework?"

Trev cocked his head, as if actually considering. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Couldn't you have waited until, oh I don't know, tomorrow, to pass it to me?" Jay picked up the ball he kept on his bedside table, rolled it around in one hand.

"Nope," Trev glanced at the desk, then grabbed the chair, seating himself. "Couple are due tomorrow."

Jay threw the ball at Trev, aiming for his head. Trev caught it with one hand, used the other to toss something at him. Jay caught it out of pure reflex.

"Told you he'd throw something at me," Trev said to David.

David, who'd opted for the floor, just snorted. Jay looked down at the thing in his hands. It looked like a hearing aid but, with Trev, he knew better than to think it was one.

"What is it?"

"One of Trev's less dangerous inventions," David replied.

"Oh come on!" Trev scowled. "Do you _still_ think the plasma battery blowing up the shed is my fault?"

David and Jay considered, looked at each other, looked at Trev. "Yes."

Trev threw his hands up in disgust and slumped further into the seat. "Yeah, well, this one won't blow up. Don't worry."

Jay still eyed it in distrust. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Trev snapped. "Have a little faith, will you?"

"Okay, okay," Jay rolled his eyes, held it up to the light. "So, what is it?"

"Protection."

"Eh?" Jay looked at him, then at David when he didn't say anything.

David shrugged. "He showed up with them this morning. One for each of us." He moved his hair back so Jay could see his ear. He was wearing one. "Apparently, it throws up a force field that'll block the monster's attack."

"So you've figured out the monster's attack?" Jay asked, still fingering the device.

David nodded. "Well, Jeanie and Trev did. We discussed it during lunch." At Jay's raised brow, David rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, we spoke in code. Well, our code. I think Eva was a bit confused."

Jay had to roll his eyes at that. "Well, duh. We came up with that code when we were, what, seven? Jeez, who wouldn't be? So what does this thing actually do?"

Trev raised a brow. "Do you really want to know?"

"Humour me."

"All right." Trev settled, shifted his glasses and generally changed into, as Jay liked to term it, 'professor mode'. "It works on a simple principle, really. See, turns out the screen in the command base can record as well as let Dayton see what's going on. So Jeanie and I checked out the recording. We managed to isolate the sound and, using a high frequency modulator, pinpoint the exact pitch of the monster's attack. Actually, it's interesting to note that –"

"Trev! To the point."

"What?" Trev blinked at David. "Oh. Right. Um. Point. Point is I've been working on these for a while, to work as kind of walkie talkies. It wasn't so hard to modify them. What it's pretty much gonna do is throw a force field around you, one that sound can't penetrate. It's activated by the monster's attack. It's a very specific frequency, so it won't be popping up unless there's an attack."

"Right…how am I supposed to hear anything if the force field blocks all sound?"

"We'll have to communicate with our morphers. They should work, since they'll be in the force field. Oh yeah," Trev added, "your force field might be difficult to see out of."

"What? Why? And why only mine?"

Trev's brows arched again. "Well, you're an air ninja, in case you've forgotten. Making you more susceptible to attack. Or have you forgotten that you're the only one who passed out last night?"

Jay flushed at the memory. Man, how embarrassing was that? To be the only one to lose consciousness. "Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez." He slipped it on. "What does this thing work on, anyway?"

"A mini plasma battery."

At David and Jay's expression, Trev burst out laughing, hard enough he was bent over in the chair, hugging his sides. "Oh – god – you should have seen your faces," Trev managed, finally calming down enough to straighten. "That – was – so – worth it!"

"Oh, shut up," Jay muttered.

David evidently agreed because he took a pillow from the bed, threw it into Trev's face. The other teen was chuckling so much, he didn't have the energy to block it, much less catch it. The knock hit his glasses off but he caught them before they fell. "Man." Shaking his head, Trev gave his glasses a quick look over before slipping them on. "Seriously. Don't worry. They're powered with normal hearing aid batteries. No plasma batteries went anywhere near them."

"You're not still working on those things, are you?" David asked, sounding seriously worried. "I mean, the explosion last time was really bad."

"Please. Don't worry. The current reincarnation is very stable."

"So you are working on them!"

"With my dad's supervision, yeah. Dad thinks they'll be a real benefit but he's not so mad about the idea, he'll let me work on them on my own. Not after what happened, anyway."

Jay chuckled. "I think I have a picture of the shed after you'd finished with it. Hey, David, pass me my albums. I'm not allowed out of bed."

"Was that what you were doing?" Trev asked, only just then noticing the album on the floor, the one on his bed. David dumped the others on the bed as well.

"Yeah. I was bored, okay?" Jay grabbed the one he wanted, flipped through it. "Here!"

The others crowded close. David burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, I remember now! This is before dad and everyone else tore it down, right?"

"And after dad gave me a dressing down in front of everyone," Trev added dryly but he was smiling. The picture was of the blackened, half falling down shed. There was still smoke curling from the ruins.

"What else is in here?" David started flipping through the other albums. "Hey, remember this?"

He pointed to a picture of younger versions the five of them at the beach. Jeanie was a bright red. "Hell yeah," Trev said, his grin widening. "She cried the whole night. Served her right for not wearing sun block."

"Served who right for not wearing sun block?"

"Mum!"

"Aunt Jasmine!"

Jasmine stood in the open doorway, holding a tray with three glasses, a jug and a plate on it. Trev coloured. "Uh – not you?"

Her smile was wry. "Nice try, Trev. Don't worry, I won't let Jeanie know. I've orange juice and sugar cookies. Jay, only two. David, hold him to that. I have to go to the uni for a while – there's a meeting I couldn't get out of. You can be good until your dad gets home, can't you Jay?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Mum…I'm not eight anymore. I'm not going to try air walk with my blanket as a cape."

"Hmm." She set the tray on his bedside table, brushed an absent kiss on his brow. "Just keep him company till then, okay David, Trev?"

"No problem Aunt Jasmine," David replied, already pouring out the juice.

Trev burst out laughing as soon as she'd closed the door behind her. "Man oh man, I remember that. Lucky your dad got home in time to grab you before you actually walked out the window."

"Yeah, well, who was egging me on?"

"That'd be David and Jeanie," Trev said with a grin. "I think there's a photo to prove it too."

David chuckled, grabbed an album. "There's always a photo to prove it."


	4. Ambush

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

Thursdays meant the ninja academies for the ninja students and some one-on-one time for Eva with Dayton. Eva enjoyed spending time with the former Life Spirits guardian. Not only was he caring, and intelligent, he could also be amazingly clueless about day-to-day things that she took for granted, which was just hilarious, in Eva's opinion. And the fact he was drop dead gorgeous wasn't a bad thing either.

He would have been the perfect man – if he didn't come from a time millenias ago.

Right now, they'd just finished her physical training and Eva was flat out on the command base floor, panting. Dayton sat on one of the cushions he kept lying around, completely relaxed and not out of breath at all. Eva sent him the evil eye. "You're not human."

Dayton blinked. "But I most assuredly am."

Eva rolled her eyes. "It was an expression, Dayton. One expressed in – oh never mind."

Dayton grinned. "I know Eva."

Eva's eyes widened and she sat up so fast, Dayton idly wondered why she didn't look dizzy. "Oh my god! Did you make a joke? No, wait it was more a sarcastic comment! Man, the others should be here! This is a historic moment!"

Now Dayton really did look puzzled. "I do not understand."

Eva grinned, waved a hand in dismissal. "Never mind, I'm babbling. And thirsty. _Man_, what I wouldn't give for a can of soda right about now."

Dayton's eyes lit up. "Soda? I have that. I think. In a moment, please."

And again, her mentor left her stunned. Eva shook her head, grinning. Man, oh, man, was Dayton adjusting to modern life. It wasn't quite safe enough to let him go wandering around in a mall on his own yet, but he was close.

Dayton returned, holding two cans of soda. "David bought this for me. I have only tried one but it was an…experience."

Eva grinned. She bet it had been, for someone who was used to only drinking water. Pure, sweet, clear water, sure, but water all the same. She caught the can he tossed to her – her grin widening as she thought about how it was such a Jay move. Dayton was being influenced by them, sure as they were being influenced by him.

They popped the tabs at the same time, Eva taking a deep gulp while Dayton took a long sip. Eva let out a soft, satisfied sigh, head dropping back. "Just what I needed." Then she grinned, something her brother said drifting through her mind. "This isn't exactly healthy, you know."

Dayton nodded. "I know. You would be better off with water. But," his smile was soft, "you did well today, so I believe you deserve a reward."

"Yeah?" Eva grinned at him. "I did good?"

He nodded. "Very good."

Eva lifted her can in a toast. "Yay for me!"

Dayton laughed, imitated her. "Yay for you, indeed."

She was mid-drink when the alarms went off, when the screen hanging by itself flickered on. "Monster attack!"

"Yes." Dayton's face was suddenly stern as he went to the controls, fingers moving across dials, switches and buttons only he understood as he sought to pinpoint the monster's location. "He is in the forest."

"The forest?" Eva frowned, cocked her head. "There's nothing out there."

"He stands in front of a waterfall. Alone, once more. Eva, morph. I will transport you out there using your _pressen_."

"The others?"

"I am calling them now."

"Right. Griffin Rider, Ranger Form!"

The blue lights appeared from nowhere, circling the teen's head, descending as they circled, getting larger and large until the light engulfed her body. When it faded away, the Blue Griffin Ranger stood in Eva's place. "All right," she said, nodding at Dayton. "Let's–"

Sudden screams erupted from the screen. Eva and Dayton turned, eyes widening at what they saw. The monster had already unleashed its attack and the waterfall was gone. An illusion, Eva realised distantly, as she stared at large wooden buildings and the clean grounds and the people in black curled up on the ground. Then the monster attacked again.

The buildings began to shake, the people curled up tighter and then the buildings began to fall. On them.

There were three who weren't curled up on the ground. They were racing to the buildings, and suddenly the communication lines in the base opened up. "Dayton! Dayton!"

Trev's voice, laced with just an edge of panic. Dayton answered, his voice as calm and steady as ever. "Yes, Trevor. The monster is –"

"Attacking the ninja academy! Damnit, we can't morph. My stupid force fields are something blocking the morphing grid!"

"Nice, Trev," Jay's voice came over the line, tensed with anger. "Real nice work."

"Shut up Jay!"

"Rangers!" Dayton's voice was sharp, a reminder of who they were. "This is not the time to bicker. I am sending Eva there – she is already morphed. The others –"

"We're already here Dayton," David said suddenly. "With the Thunder ninjas."

Eva's head was spinning. Everything was moving way to fast. "What?"

"Eva, I want you to take out the monster. We have to help out the academy."

David's voice steadied her, enough that she could focus. "Yeah, okay. Dayton?"

Dayton's didn't reply but he didn't have to. The portal was already open, swirling in front of her. She called up her bow first, the blue tip bow appearing in her hands and feeling comfortable in her grip. She nodded at Dayton and, holding her bow in one hand, stepped through the portal.

* * *

It was chaos in the Wind Ninja Academy. The monster attack had stopped – for now at the very least – but that didn't mean everything was fine. The buildings were collapsing, and David could have sworn he heard his dad groaning, "not again", as they raced through the academy grounds.

Everyone from the Thunder Ninja Academy was there. Ever since his parents' days as rangers, the bonds between the two academies were tight. Tight enough they'd signed a pact; if either of the academies were attacked, the other would come to help out, no matter the circumstances.

Right now, most of the thunder ninjas were heading towards the toppling academy buildings. There was already a flood of students and teachers coming from them, a few of the older students lining up along the edges of the flood, trying to gain some order. The other thunder ninjas were helping the ones on the training grounds up, checking them over, making sure they were all right.

David spotted his mum, but Aunt Leanne was already helping her up so he sped on. Most of the beginner and intermediate students' classes were housed in the buildings which meant only one thing to him; his sister was in there.

There were sudden screams as another part of the building fell. "Please tell me there was no one in there!"

"No," Trev's voice suddenly came through his wristlet, tense but steady. "Everyone was already evacuated from there."

"Mary Ann?"

"Not out yet. And I can't find Sara, Michelle or Calum either."

"Ris?"

"No sign of them." Ris's voice sounded even but he could hear the tint of fear in it. He sped up.

"Jay?"

"In the grounds. I'm heading towards the bui–"

The next attack knocked David flat. His force field activated before his mind had even registered the attack. It shimmered in front of him, almost imperceptible apart from the slight yellow cast to his surroundings. He gained his feet, stared around as everyone else curled up on the ground, hands clamped firmly over their ears. "Check in!"

"I'm fine."

"I'm good."

"Okay."

"Still heading towards the buildings."

David had to smile at Jay's reply. His cousin had a one track mind and though it could oftentimes be annoying, this time it was an asset. "Work fast everyone. I know no one's moving right now but the building sure as hell is. Get everyone out there, even if you have to carry them."

"Got that," Jeanie said. "I'm at the entrance now, heading in."

"Be careful."

"Always."

David had reached the buildings now. There were crowds of students here, some crowded in groups, some prone on the ground. All of them were holding their ears. None of them were his sister or his cousins.

Jay joined him, moving carefully. Jeanie re-emerged from the building, holding a young student. The boy didn't even have his element yet. There was blood tangled in his light brown hair. Jeanie was shaking her head. "Got hit with a beam. Had to lift it off him."

"He okay?"

"Pretty much, I think. I'm taking him to Ris to Heal." Jeanie moved off.

The attack stopped as suddenly as it started – but this time there was a bellow of pain. "Eva," David murmured in a satisfied voice.

Jay nodded. "Let's hope Pleance won't be adding any Frissons to the mix."

"Don't worry," Eva's voice crackled over their wristlets. "I'm using my bow. Long distance."

"Keep at it, Eva," David told her before moving towards the academy building.

"David!" The yell came from a thunder sensei. "Don't go in there, it's too dangerous."

"But –"

Trev suddenly appeared, face pale and set. "Listen to him. We're students here, remember?"

David nodded and reluctantly joined his sensei, helping him and the group of thunder students with him herald the younger wind students towards the pre-determined safe zones. And, still, neither Mary Ann, nor Sara, nor Michelle, nor Calum were among them. Fear leapt into David's throat. Where could they be?

"They're in the far east wing," Cam said and though he wasn't talking to David, the teen's head turned anyway. Cam was talking to Hunter, brows furrowed and dark eyes trained on the collapsing academy buildings. "The one farthest from any entrance. Damnit, I knew this building needed more entrances but I let my dad and the other sensei browbeat me into keeping the original design."

"It's not your fault, Cam. There's no way you could have foreseen this."

"Yeah? Then why does it feel like it?"

"Watch it Cam," Shane joined them, voice low and warning. "The students and other sensei are watching us, looking at us for guidance. We used to be the rangers, remember. They expect us to know what to do. It won't do to have them think we're not confident in ourselves, in our decisions. So keep your mouth shut and you can beat yourself up later. Hell, I'll even help you if you want."

To David's surprise, Cam managed a laugh, though it was hard and on the edge. "I might actually hold you to that. What's the situation?"

"The blue ranger's keeping the monster occupied, stopping it from sending any more of those freak attacks. Those orange freaks have appeared but our experienced students and whatever sensei we can spare are holding them down."

"What about David and the others? Think we can get them out of here?" Hunter asked, his voice low.

Cam shook his head. "No. They're our kids. Means everyone not only knows them, they keep an eye out for them. They disappear, everyone's going to be looking for them."

"Damnit!" Hunter glared up at the still falling buildings.

"Look out!"

The yell came from the other side of the buildings and ninjas jumped out of the way – a few ninja streaking back – as a side of the building crashed to the ground, revealing the inside of the academy. There were still students in it.

David recognised four of them.

Oh god. They and a bunch of other students were staring in horror at where the wall had once been. Beneath their feet, the floor, having lost its support, actually moved like a wave before simply crumbling.

Screams and shouts filled the air.

David rocketed forward, hardly noticing anything else, eyes fixed on a girl with long black hair and almond sharp dark eyes, dressed in black with blue trim as she fell through the air, arms and legs moving as she tried fruitlessly to slow her fall. Oh god, oh god. His baby sister.

There was an energy moving through him, one he didn't recognise but he knew it all the same. It wasn't his ninja power, he knew that much. But it was power and it might just be what he needed. With one desperate thought – _save them_ – he threw the power out of him, watching, half dazed, as a rush of red arced through the air, heading for the falling students.

It reached the students and spread out, covering them, until it was thin enough you could see through it. And suddenly, the debris that had been falling around them was bouncing off the red. And David knew; shield. It was a shield.

He would have whooped, jumped up and down except, damnit, they were _still_ falling. And he couldn't control it. He could keep the shape, the shield up, he could feel that, but he couldn't _control the damn fall_.

Suddenly, the ball of red slowed, began to float. Gently, gently, like a feather riding a breeze, until it landed on the ground. Around them, the academy continued to fall, but none of the wreckage hit the students, thanks to the – _his_, David thought with pride – shield. After what felt like an eternity, the last of the remains fell, throwing dust in the air and nothing else. With a thought, David dissipated the shield.

The sensei rushed forward, to help the stunned students up. David would have moved with them, except a sudden wave of dizziness overtook him. He stumbled, nearly fell except a strong arm slid around his waist, held him upright. "It's okay. I've got you."

David blinked up into bright blue eyes. "Uncle Hunter."

The thunder ninja nodded, helped David steady himself. "You did good, David. Lucky for you, everyone else was focused elsewhere."

"Yeah." David managed a nod. "Didn't think about that."

Hunter chuckled, ruffed the teen's hair. "Bet you didn't. Want to go check if Mary Ann's all right? Everything should be done by now. Your Eva's managed to beat back the monster while you were taking care of that. It and its little friends are all gone now."

David nodded again, barely noticing Hunter's use of 'his' Eva. "Mary Ann!"

"David!" Her face was pale, awash in tears but she was up and steady and running towards him, arms outstretched. "David!"

He caught her, hugged her tight, rocked her from side to side.

"Mary Ann! Baby!" It was his dad who yelled, moving through the crowds, holding on tight to Tori's hand. "Mary Ann!"

"Dad!" She was crying again, and holding her arms out but David couldn't let go of her, not just yet. It'd been too damn close.

"Oh, baby." Blake dropped Tori's hand only to envelope both his children, squeeze them to him. "Oh, David. Mary Ann."

"They're all right." Steady now that she could see it, Tori touched David's light blond hair, Mary Ann's near black hair. Smoothing her hands over their heads, she leaned in, pressed her face between theirs. "They're all right."


	5. Fatigue and skating

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

It had taken hours to clean up the worse of the mess, hours to calm down and sort out the students. The emergency arrangements were simple; the beginner boarders were sent to stay at the Thunder Ninja Academy. The intermediate and experienced boarders camped out with the sensei on the academy grounds. And those whose homes were in the city retired late.

When Jay woke up the next day, he considered begging off school. One look at his mum's expression convinced him otherwise. Later, he wouldn't have been able to relate how he got through his first few lessons. He remembered there being a whirlwind of sounds and colours, and those students he knew to be fellow ninja students walking around, looking as exhausted as he was.

By the time he made it to lunch – and to the table he usually sat at with the other rangers – he was just about ready to play hooky and go back home to sleep. Trev and Jeanie was already there, Trev for once without a book or his laptop. Actually, both of them seemed to sleeping, their lunch trays abandoned in front of them. Jay sat opposite the couple, pushed his lunch bag away and thunked his head on the table. "Me. Want. Bed."

"I hear ya caveman," Jeanie managed.

"That was an ultimate low," Eva decided, arriving at the table with David and Ris in tow. "Attacking the academy."

"You know," Trev pushed up on one elbow. His hair was messier than usual but his eyes were sharp behind his glasses. "I don't think the attack was aimed at the academy. There's no way Pleance could have known it was there. You know what Dayton said; the only people Pleance can track in this dimension is us. He must have been tracking one of us."

"Like the last monster was tracking Jeanie," Ris added.

"Yeah, think so."

"So who was this bastard tracking?" David asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jeanie levelled bright blues at their black ranger. "Jay."

"What? Me?" Jay sat up, stared at them. "Why me?"

"Because you were the one the most vulnerable to attack. That's what the first one must've been about," Jeanie decided. "Finding out who's most susceptible to the monster's attack."

"And that's you," Trev said.

"Damn." Jay put his head back on the table. "Well, the only thing I can say is thank god for your hearing aids, eh Trev?"

"We caught a lucky break," David said in a grim voice. "Might not catch one next time."

"Looks like this thing's waiting to catch us off guard, counting on its attack to disable us," Trev said. "It doesn't know we've got protection now."

"Protection that renders us unable to morph," David reminded him.

"I think if we're already morphed, it should rectify that."

"But there's no way the monster will attack us when we're fully morphed," Ris said.

"You know," Eva spoke up suddenly. "There's one good thing that came out of all this."

"What's that?" Jeanie asked.

"Well, two good things actually," she said. "Jay and David finally found their powers."

"We already – wait. Jay?" Trev blinked at Eva. She nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, I know that," Jay murmured, half sleepily. "Figured it out when I managed to stop that giant red hamster ball from crashing."

"That was you?" David stared at his half asleep cousin, astonished.

"Um…yeah. Who'd you think it was?"

"I have…no idea," David admitted.

"Movement," Eva said as Ris – finally feeling slightly more awake – went through Jay's lunch. "You can make objects move and also control object's movement while they're moving."

"Telekinesis," Jeanie said.

"Yep. David, yours is called Energy. The ability to manipulate Energy to any form you want. Only thing is; you can only use it in defence."

"In other words," Jeanie smirked, "you can only use it as a shield."

"Yep." Sounding satisfied, Eva opened her own lunch to reveal a burger and fries. "Anyone want some?"

"Now you mention it," Jeanie said, "I'm _starving_."

"Isn't that Jay's line?" Trev asked.

"Sleeping here. Eating can wait."

Jeanie blinked at him. "I'm sorry. Did you just say 'eating can wait'?"

"Yes." But his hand shot out when David tried to pull his lunch bag away. "Mine. Eating can wait – meaning I'm sleepy but I'll be hungry later and if you try take my lunch, I'm biting your leg."

They laughed and though David rolled his eyes, he didn't retaliate. Jeanie picked up her fork, waved it at Jay. "_That's_ the Jay we know."

* * *

People were scarce at the skate park. They usually were at this time of the day. David, Jay and Trev had arrived after their training with Dayton and the girls, just as dusk was settling over the day. The skate park overlooked the sea and the wind was blowing in so they could smell the waves.

Trev looked out at the beach while Jay strapped on his helmet and pads. "This is just what the doctor called for. A little R and R, yeah?"

Trev snorted, turning "You mean, your version of R and R?"

Jay grinned, holding his board under his arm. "Hey, you take what you get."

David and Trev watched as Jay set off, warming up on the half-pipe. David tilted his head. "Hey, you know Uncle Dustin says Jay's even better than Uncle Shane was at his age."

"Yeah, well, I think that's just Uncle Dustin trying to annoy Uncle Shane. You know how competitive he is."

David grinned. "Just like Jay, eh?"

Trev had to laugh. "Exactly like Jay."

They watched Jay for a while, until he slid to the stop in front of them. "Hey, aren't you guys going to do anything? What's the point of coming here if you don't _ride_."

Trev rolled his eyes but David just grinned, putting on his helmet. He'd already put on his pads. "Come on then Jay," David said, knowing it'd spur Jay like nothing else. "Let's see who can pull the most tricks before they smoke. Usual points. Trev, you're keeper."

"What? Hell no! You always – damnit, get back here! I'm not keeper!"

Neither Jay nor David listened to him as they skated off. With a frustrated growl, Trev leaned on the railing that protected skaters from the edge of the cliff and half glared, half watched as his cousins set out to outdo the other.

The blast was invisible, the sound piercing as it knocked everyone in the vicinity off their feet. Trev knocked his head against the railing and he just lay on the ground for a few seconds, stunned, blinking to get the blood out of his eyes. Blood. Damn. He must have hit the railing hard.

David was rushing over, skateboard abandoned. "Trev! You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little dizzy. Damn." Trev shook his head, accept the hand David accepted.

Jay shook his head as he shakily got to his feet. "You can block out all sound with your shield but you can't block out a little itty bitty railing?"

Trev scowled at him. "It's not little. And the shield is designed to negate sound waves, not solid objects. And I hit the edge!"

"Yeah, well, my shield's gone. Meaning the shit head's not singing his little ditty, right?"

Trev nodded even as he pressed his palm to the already healed cut on his brow. "Yeah. Shield only comes up when the monster's broadcasting his frequency. Damnit!"

"Blood'll wash out," David said. "Just soak it in vinegar." When his cousins just stared at him, he shrugged. "Mum told me."

"Aunt Tori knows all," Jay decided. "She's like –"

They fell, hitting the ground even as their shields were triggered. They stayed on the ground when their shields stayed up. "Damnit! It opened up again!"

"You whine worse than a –"

"If you want to stay alive, Jay, I'd rethink that sentence." Coming over the communication line didn't detract anything from the warning in Jeanie's voice.

"Dog begging for scraps?"

"Quick thinking," Eva said approvingly.

"Jay, you're supposed to be curled up and crying. Start crying."

"Shut up David," Jay muttered but he did curl up, clamp his palms over his ears and screw his face. Appearances, after all, needed to be kept.

"Monster's moving. Is it still keeping the frequency up?" Jeanie asked.

Trev took in the yellow cast he still had to his world. "Yep."

"It wants to check its handiwork," Eva decided. "I'm guessing it's going to you, Jay. Keep up the act."

"Get them out while it's distracted," David ordered. "Where ever. Just get the civilians out."

"I know," Trev shot back. Yeah, he knew. Didn't mean he was looking forward to it. Man, he hated Relocating. It still hurt like a son of a –

"Oh man, Jay, It's standing over you. I hope to hell the bastard can't see your shield," Ris's voice sounded distressed and edgy.

"Now Trev," David said. "Now."

Trev closed his eyes, muscles unconsciously tightening as he reached deep down into himself, deeper than where his ninja powers pulsed patiently, into that corner of himself that housed the Centaur's power. It poured out of him, easier now, but the strain of keeping it in check made his body tremble. God, he hated this bit.

With a thought, he'd pushed it out, sent it spreading out over the skate park. He was dimly aware of his cousins, of the monster, but he focused his attention on directing his Power where he wanted it to go. It engulfed the terrified and hurting civilians. With one last thought – and a side thought that cursed David and his plans – Trev sent them on their way.

The monster whirled as the civilians disappeared – and the girls appeared, already morphed, jumping out of portals they'd had Dayton ready and keep in waiting. Eva and Ris landed on either side of the monster while Jeanie landed on the freak's face. It went down and she vaulted off.

Their shields dropped, the boys already rolling to their feet. The girls were keeping the monster distracted, keeping it from focusing is energy as they catapulted off it and each other, using various attacks to get its attention.

Jeanie introduced its face to her knee, Eva punched its jaw with a quick one-two rhythm and Ris, with a blurring whirl, kicked it off its feet.

"Any time now," Jeanie panted, ducking the monster's fist and kicking at its knees. Well, where its knees would be if it had knees. "You know, before the Frissons appear."

"Don't say their names," Ris exclaimed, using Jeanie's shoulders as a vault to jump on the monster's head. She perched there for a moment before launching herself off it hard. The monster stumbled back as she landed. "You'll make them appear!"

"Ready?" David asked of the other unmorphed rangers.

Jay and Trev nodded, taking on their ready positions. "Ready!"

"Dragon Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Minotaur Rider, Ranger Form!"

"Centaur Rider, Ranger Form!"

Balls of lights in each teen's respective ranger colour formed over their heads, slowly revolving and descending. As they did, the balls seemed to enlarge, until the light engulfed all of the teen's body. With a flash, it faded, leaving three rangers ready to do battle.


	6. Dude Seriously?

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

Frissons had appeared, far outnumbering the girls as they struggled to hold them off and keep the monster from building up another attack. Eva kicked a Frisson in the belly, dropped down to avoid another's slashing claws and swung her leg in a circle, bringing two down. Jeanie punched two in the face, shattering them, only to have two grab her arms, try pin them in place. She grappled with them before finally using their weight against them as she swung her arms together, slamming them into each other. Ris easily released herself from one's clumsy hold, slamming her fist into its jaw, destroying it. She backed away when another came rushing through the fallen shards, claws leading.

The monster had backed away a bit from the fray and was perfectly still. Building its attack.

Without a word, David and Jay charged forward. Trev paused only long enough to call his weapon before running after them.

"Trev!"

The green ranger didn't bother looking as he swung his staff around and over his head, leaning back so much his torso was near vertical. With one sweep, he managed to take out seven Frissons and clear a path for the other two rangers.

Eva whirled away from three Frissons that tried to rake razor thing claws over her arm, then jumped up, spinning in mid air when more Frissons went for her. She nearly landed on Jeanie. "Whoa! Okay?"

Eva nodded. "Miscalculated. Sorry."

"Don't worry. Not your fault. It's theirs." Jeanie pointed at the Frissons, then draw her hand back and kicked at the one that had tried to bite – freaking, hell, bite! – her finger. "Crap!"

Ris laughed, sucker punched one before grabbing another that had tried to attack her from behind and throwing it over her shoulder. "No pointing, Jeanie. It's rude."

"What do these asses know about manners?" Jeanie ranted, back flipping, landing on her haunches, one leg out to catch as Frisson as it clumsily lunged for her. She slammed her fist into concrete, through its head.

David and Jay, meanwhile, had stopped making head way. There were just too many damn Frissons. "Damnit! Can't Trev just Relocate there bastards?"

"You Relocate them," Trev shot back, using his staff to slam in Frissons' heads, shattering them. "And then we'll see how blasé you are about it."

"Actually," David said. "I have a better idea. Jay, Move them."

"Oh?" Jay bucked a punch, grabbed the Frisson's arm, threw it over his shoulder and, with one hand still holding onto the struggling Frisson, he kicked backwards, catching another in the belly, sending it stumbling back. "How do you suppose I do that?"

He could _feel _the look David was shooting him, even through the helmet. "Oh. Right. That."

Trev's helmet was shaking as he used his staff to push a Frisson onto its ass, then swung it reverse so he could smack a couple of heads together. "I can't_ believe_ you forgot."

"Shut up," Jay muttered. He didn't hear Trev's reply, already focusing on the power he now knew lay within him, deep enough it had taken diving through several layers of himself that he hadn't even known existed. There it lay, coiled and sleeping, but deadly. Or so he liked to tell himself.

He drew it out, let it pour out of him. He was dimly aware of his fellow rangers keeping the Frissons from attacking him but he was solely focused on the power the Minotaur had given to him. With a thought and a mental push, he forced it to surround the Frissons. And with another thought, he had them – all of them – Moving.

Eva yelped, dropped to the ground as Frissons flew overhead. Some of them hit the ground, more were thrown off the cliffs into the waves crashing below. And a few crashed into the half pipe. Jay's eyes widened at the sound of breaking wood and metal.

"No!"

Trev chuckled, shook his head as he looked at the destruction that used to be the half pipe. "Hey, your bad."

"Shut up." Jay turned to face the monster.

David was already there, his sword's water like blade rising and falling as he slashed at it. He must have called on his weapon while Jay had been calling on his power. Then David fell back and twin pink lasers slammed into the monster, forcing it stumbling back. The lasers were followed by a long bright blue bolt, keeping the monster off balance, before Ris came flying in, blades flashing in the sun's last rays.

Jay held out a hand, fingers absently splayed out. "Minotaur's Sabre!" The pure black blade and hilt formed almost instantaneously and his fingers curled into a familiar grip.

As David launched himself at the monster once again, Jay followed suit, both their blades held high. The monster say them coming and opened its mouth to attack.

Ris spun low and her Phoenix's Daggers sank into the monster's legs. It let out a scream of pain, one that washed over the rangers but didn't injure them.

With teeth bared, Jay landed to the side of the monster, blade already falling before his feet had so much as grazed the ground, cutting into the monster's bulky shoulder. David caught it on the side of its neck, the wound deep. As it stumbled back, a large paw pressing against the damage to its neck, Trev moved in, staff whirling above his head, slamming the monster in its head, its side, then going low, sweeping it off its feet.

They fell back, waiting for it to gain its feet again. Jeanie was already moving her hands, wrists rotating so hot pink balls of light formed when her sling's rubber cradles would normally be. The more she spun, the bigger the balls became.

Eva raised her bow, lined up the monster and pulled her free hand back, a pale blue light forming between bow and fingers, shimmering as if just waiting to be released.

As soon as the monster was upright again, the girls released the lasers. The monster, dizzy, disorientated and already badly injured, had no chance. The lasers hit, sending it flying backwards. And it shattered once it hit the ground.

The rangers stood there for a long moment, staring in disbelief. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," Jeanie said finally.

"No way," Jay said. "No way. That was _weak_ man!"

"We didn't even have to form the Spirit Cannon," Trev commented. "Has that ever happened before?"

David shook his head. "No, man. No."

Ris wandered over, crouched next the monster's remains. She poked them. "Ris! What're you doing?"

Ris looked up at Eva's shocked question. "Making sure it's not going to grow." She looked at them, cocked her head. "For a monster that made Jay cry, it sure got killed easy."

Jay coloured at the reminder and was doubly glad that he was still powered up and his visor was closed. "Power down," David said. The others followed suit, Ris still crouching at the monster.

"It's okay Ris," Eva said, rolling her eyes. "Dayton told me once Pleance only has a limited amount of time to make his monster's grow. Something to do with the remains deteriorating easily."

"Hmm." Ris stood up, brushed her hands on her jeans and bounced over. "But that's mega weird, right?"

"Mega, mega weird," Jeanie agreed. "One; we can destroy Pleance's monsters with just our weapons, no Spirit Cannon."

"Two; Pleance doesn't biggify his monster," Jay added and made everyone roll their eyes even as they nodded.

"He's up to something," David decided grimly. "Come on. We need to talk to Dayton."


	7. All Jay's fault

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

* * *

"I am deeply sorry Rangers." Dayton sighed and pressed his fingers to his eyes. "I cannot think of a reason why Pleance would make a monster so physically weak that it would take but little effort on your part to get rid of it."

"Little." Trev snorted, fingered the now healed cut on his forehead. The skin there was still a little red, a little tender but the cut was nowhere in sight. "It made me see birdies."

"Made Jay cry," Ris added and earned a cushion to the face.

"No," Jeanie said, frowning, shaking her head. "Its _scream_ did all that. Physically, it couldn't even defend itself, not really."

"Yeah, then why was it built like a wrestler?" Jay asked.

"Show maybe?" Eva suggested. "But Jeanie's right; it was kind of weak when it came to close combat."

"Perhaps that is why the monster was so easily defeated," Dayton suggested. "Because Pleance focused so on giving it its ability to scream, there was no more for its physical abilities."

"Like pandas and koalas."

Everyone stared at Trev for his statement. "Uh, Trev," Ris finally ventured. "That thing was nothing like pandas and koalas. It was big, evil and _ugly_."

"What? No, I didn't mean it that way. I meant it was like them because they're specialists."

"Yeah!" Jeanie caught right on, clicking her fingers. "Pandas can only eat bamboo shoots and koalas can only eat eucalyptus leaves."

"Okay." Jay stood, stretched. "Weirdest analogy you two have pulled – ever. Is this post-battle thing over?"

"I guess," David said, frowning. "Why?"

"I have to get home and figure out how to tell my dad that Frissons just destroyed his favourite ride in the city."

"You mean you destroyed it," Trev pointed out.

"Frissons crashed into it."

"Because you Moved them."

"Shut up. If dad finds that out, I'm coming after every one of you."

Laughter filled the command base as Jay walked through the portal.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, freakishly short and I'm also sorry for the lack of monster-zord fighting in the previous chapter but there is a point to this, I promise! So, yeah, only about five more episodes left. (I hope)_


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